Lack of interest XF2 - Full page text editor for replies

[Sysnative]

Hi,

I'd like to see the same full-page text editor currently available for creating a new thread, available for posting new replies.

It would be great if this mimicked the XF1 version, where /add-reply is appended to the thread URL, and the full-page version includes easier to see options to include attachments. Alternatively, a nice way of doing this is the vB3/4 style, where the Advanced Text Editor opens up additional options (displays a list of smilies for instance, and other options which appear in the full version.

Reason for this is for sites that typically have long post content, where the members much prefer using a full-page text editor to create replies. This is generally a requirement for forums in the "tech support" niche (e.g. sysnative.com) where users will post lengthy logs, instructions, and attachments to each post.

 

[Mike]

Is your issue with the quick reply editor mostly the height? As that is dynamic -- it expands to the same height as the "full" editor you're referring to (both of which are based on the height of your browser).

The width is only marginally smaller (based on the user info on the side); it's actually more representative of what the post will look like since it mimics the look. The button positioning is a little different, but the functionality is essentially identical between the two locations.

I'm not sure I see a particularly strong reason for exposing something like this out of the box (the page you want does exist already, mostly for non-JS type users).

 

[lantek]

I've had some users asking for the same thing. Those that have seem to feel that the existing reply box is ok for short posts, but when doing a long post they want a dedicated screen to eliminate the clutter of the thread list.

 

[Sysnative]

I think two reasons from our users perspective. Familiarity is a big part of it - users are used to this behaviour from forum software, especially with its prominence in vB3/4. Currently users on our test site are complaining about the lack of an advanced reply text editor.

This is also likely to do with some of our users with poorer eyesight who use the browser at very high zoom levels (200-250%) - when zoomed in to a heavy level, the current text editor gets pushed to the side with the Avatar/Username area taking up a lot of space. The same thing doesn't happen in the full-page view of the new thread function.

Our ideal preference would be that the text editor did open up into an "advanced" mode with additional options. This is where we would potentially like to include more BBCode options for instance, that don't necessarily need to appear for the quick-reply box.

If you guys decide not to proceed with something like this in the future - how would we go about exposing the existing page via add-on to enable?

 

[Sachaa]

I agree with this. XF needs it.

 

[Sysnative]

I'm not sure I see a particularly strong reason for exposing something like this out of the box (the page you want does exist already, mostly for non-JS type users).

Anyone have any ideas how we could create something like this, or expose it for users who want it?

 

[S Thomas]

https://xenforo.com/community/threads/xf2-full-page-text-editor-for-replies.140653/reply

 

[jianmingyong]

I don't know why it was removed but

https://xenforo.com/community/threads/xf2-full-page-text-editor-for-replies.140653/reply

works like how the old XF 1 more options button do. If you really want it, maybe make a template modification to add the button back.

 

[Chromaniac]

can anyone provide the template modification needed to add this button to below quick reply!

 

[Dennis Olson]

I only switched over to XF last week. I have users asking for a full-page editor screen because replying in-line is, in their words, "too busy, and I can't focus properly." Actually, they have a point. Though I can see this only being an option from a PC rather than a hand-held.

 

[Chromaniac]

in my case, i am using short urls without title keywords in url. a user pointed out that it is hard to realize what thread you are on if you are scrolled down in a thread. button to load full editor would kind of provide a way when doing longer replies that include multiple quotes for instance.